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Pregnancy Pains

by Kelly Mills on September 17, 2010 at 4:09 am

Doctors with pregnant patients hear a lot of complaints about back pain, especially as the pregnancy progresses.

"The third tri-mester is characterized by more weight gain, more pelvic pressure and more discomfort. So in the last six to eight weeks of pregnancy when the baby’s putting on more weight typically that’s when you’re most symptomatic," says Dr. Robert Aepli, OB/GYN.

"You’ve got muscle stretch, muscle shortening, so that can create some weakness in the muscles and weakness in the body so that can create some problems. You can also have the baby positioning, you know if it’s not in the right position or if it’s a bigger baby in a small mom creating problems," says Dr. Liz Stiegler, Chiropractor.

And as the baby grows, women adjust their posture themselves to carry the weight.

"You go into an extension and you’ll see a lot of women who are extending back with the baby to kind of balance themselves out because we don’t want to fall forward," says Dr. Stiegler.

You can do simple things to relieve your back pain like using ice and heat, or stretching.

"Sitting in your chair and bringing your knee to your chest and holding, doing some aerobic type Pilates stretches where you’re just bending over and extending your spine. Simply laying on your back with a pillow underneath and stretching your arms out over your head," she says.

One of the easiest things you can do to relieve your back pain is just take a pillow and put it between your knees.

"It takes pressure off of the low back. When you’re sleeping on your side you have your leg usually thrown over which can cause some rotation so just having that pillow there takes some pressure off your low back and helps you relax," says Dr. Stiegler.

If these home remedies don’t work you can also go to a chiropractor. Chiropractic care is safe when you’re pregnant because it’s non-invasive and doesn’t require any drugs. It may even make the birthing process easier.

"When you get adjusted aligning the pelvis actually helps with delivery because it opens with the space the baby can fit down into the natural birth canal you don’t have any rotation," she says.

Dr. Stiegler says she’s adjusted patients up until the day before labor.